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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · march · prune · temple · court · press · cold · spell

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. current — happening now
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — an illness
  9. press — to push
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. current — of water
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. march — music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. press — newspapers
  17. spell — letters
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — for sport
  20. current — electric
  21. court — of a king
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — not warm
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com